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I was reading the lessons last night about starting meds and came across the part where it said that normally most people don't develop AIDS for approx. 10 years after infection. My husband was just diagnosed in June and his numbers were already too close to that dreaded 200 mark that we are both afraid that his next set of labs coming up will give him that diagnosis.

His first set was CD4 314 VL 9000 17%. He has been having terrible headaches, weird things going on with his tongue and mouth and last night he had night sweats. He gets his next draw at the end of this month and will go for the results 10/18. I'm pretty sure they will be recommending meds. (A scary thing to me in itself.)

I am just so confused how his numbers could be so low already. We're pretty sure he was infected last October or November so it's only been a year. (He had textbook seroconversion illness symptoms the beginning of December.)

Good morning Secret. I don't have the answers to your questions but personally AIDS showed up 5-6 years into my diagnosis. The reason why I say 5-6 is because date of infection was either in 1999 or 2000 (I don't know which). I got an AIDS diagnosis in late 2005, but possibly reached the AIDS level earlier (I didn't have bloodwork drawn again after my my actual HIV diagnosis back in mid 2000, until late 2005)

Hi, about the progress of Aids and his numbers... i cannot tell much, i would just say that CD4 tend to vary a lot during first year.

I think i have less than a year infected (i think it was end of october/november last year) but my first CD4 was 494. Couple of months later it grew up as you can see in my signature. I think it is matter of being a bit cautious in avoiding getting ill or anything that could affect his health, he can have improve his numbers yet.

About the night sweats i have had them since diagnosed, and it is not always related to a low CD4 it is just a reaction of body towards infection. What you both should do is to prepare for an improvement in his CD4, by taking steps to make it happen... healthy food, proper resting, and so on. Worry too much just pull the CD4 levels down.

If he was recently infected, i think he has lot of chances of improving his numbers as long as he does not have anything else bothering him. Be optimistic.

There are no absolutes about how the numbers go up or down. The important thing is for him to have a good doctor who is monitoring his numbers regularly. The pattern of the numbers is very important. If he is fairly recently infected then they may begin to move up (CD4s) and VL move down as his immune system kicks in.

Having a good partnership with one's doctor is essential so that you/he can ask questions and discuss anything of concern.

You're in a period of adjustment for sure. This will take time to get used to by all who are concerned. Gradually you're going to learn everything you need to.

His first set was CD4 314 VL 9000 17%. He has been having terrible headaches, weird things going on with his tongue and mouth and last night he had night sweats. He gets his next draw at the end of this month and will go for the results 10/18. I'm pretty sure they will be recommending meds. (A scary thing to me in itself.)

I am just so confused how his numbers could be so low already. We're pretty sure he was infected last October or November so it's only been a year. (He had textbook seroconversion illness symptoms the beginning of December.)

My son's first CD4 was in the high 200s. I, too, worried until the next test that he would be diagnosed with AIDS. The next test was over 300, but his doctor still recommended meds. Then I worried that he would have resistance to many meds, which the testing showed he did. Then I worried that he would have an allergic reaction to his medication -- which he didn't. Two years into this nightmare, his CD4 is over 600 and he has an undetectable VL. I still worry about each sneeze and cough. The point is -- there will always be things to worry about. Each new issue you face is scary in itself, but you just keep crossing the bridges when you get to them and life goes on.

Don't freak out secretly -- share your feelings on this forum, or just read the posts to comfort yourself. Share what you can with your husband. Ask questions of his doctor. Knowledge is a good thing and can help you face these challenges.

You will get through this. I don't want to suggest it gets easier, but it does get manageable.